Don't Tell Him I Said That
by tFantasyFan
Summary: I'm foraying into up-front turtlecest. A gathering of Raph/Mikey one-shots. Show some love. Nothing very explicit.
1. Don't Tell

_Part one of however many I end up with. Just a collection of Raph/Mike one-shots. Turtlecest, yes. ^^ I want to do this kind of thing for other pairings, too. I'm blatantly entering that realm now. This whole one-shot hiatus thing? Yeah, just give up on that._

_Disclaimer: I have no legal rights to the TMNT and all other included legalities. _

* * *

I like pretending that there wasn't a 'before' this whatever-it-is started with me and Raph.

You know, like if someone had walked up to me ten years ago and told me that we'd be what we are now and I would've freaked out and maybe puked? Yeah, I pretty much just smooth that part of my memory over with things like rainbows and unicorns and bottomless nachos.

And Raph, too. There really isn't much of a point to smoothing it over if I'm not including _Raph. _So I pretty much just live in my special denial-world 24/7. And I tell everyone that I never thought he was gross or covered in cooties or something.

I don't think cooties hang around mutant turtles anyway. At least, not now. But I watched a lot of TV as a kid and I pretty much super-absorbed anything that seemed normal for someone my age. Which led to me avoiding my bros like the plague for at least a month.

That was probably around the time things started getting all…shifty with both of us.

Or at least that's what I tell everyone.

Sensei was miffed and Leo was totally lost and Donnie was either laughing at me or getting all frustrated because cooties 'didn't exist.' And Raph…well, this was back in the day when he was _Raphie. _Like, before he got the accent and the whole 'tough-guy vigilante' motif down.

The really noticeable difference between _Raph _and _Raphie, _aside from the whole 'one is only seven and the other is all hard-ass seventeen (I guess we'll get around to the ass part of that later),' is that the seven-year-old one cried.

All. The. Time.

I'm pretty glad he grew out of that, actually. I don't think I could have nearly as much fun fooling around with someone so weepy. Going to the movies would just be embarrassing. And don't even get me STARTED on how fast I'd have to get out of bed to avoid that kind of mushy pillow-talk thing.

Not that I'm some kind of commitment-phobic robot or whatever. I don't have anything against TALKING to Raph, like REALLY talking to him, but if he started crying I'd have to freak out and high-tail it. He used to cry all the time and now he pretty much CAN'T.

Except for that time Leo got ambushed by the Foot, but that was different. That was scary and I probably would've gotten mad at him for not crying, at least a little bit.

I'm still pretty glad he's got those mostly-dry peepers, though.

Oh, right. Cooties and Raphie.

As you can probably imagine, Raphie didn't take very kindly to being avoided. I don't think he could take more than an hour of hearing "go away, you're gross" before he started crying and throwing a tantrum. Remembering it, I think it was cute. Back then it was just annoying. So I'd stay like ten feet away, at all times. He HATED that.

In fact, he's _still_ a little bit sensitive about that stuff. Apparently he thinks it's only a matter of time until we all realize how much we hate him or how dangerous he is or something stupid like that. I don't get it, either.

He's always going on about being a 'grouchy shit' and then he hits something and then he storms off to brood dramatically. Which I really just can't wrap my head around. He pushes me away, he smacks me on the back of the head and gets all…angry and stuff. When he wants to, Raph can be a real jerk. But don't tell him I said that.

What also sucks is that HE'S allowed to give ME the silent treatment, and I can't do the same thing. Like, ever. You'd think it wouldn't be all that hard to do. Just…y'know…don't talk to him, right?

Wrong, dude. Have you ever tried giving the guy the cold shoulder? The second I do he's up in my face, all offended: then- and this really just gets my goat- he uses my own pouting face against me! My own trademarked routine! The nerve of some turtles, I tell you. In my face one second, pouting the next.

And even though he's got that tough-guy vigilante vibe thing I was talking about, it's pretty damn pathetic to watch him pout. Don't tell him I said THAT, either. Don and Leo call it 'sulking,' because Raph 'just doesn't pout.' But he DOES. Just not with them. His eyes get all big and shiny and he starts scuffing the ground with his toe and he can even get his lips to do that pouty sticking-out thing.

Once he's got THAT going, he doesn't even SAY anything to me. Just stands around looking all sorry and hurt and…pretty cute, now that I think about it. And I just CAN'T say no to ANYTHING when he looks like that. Seriously. Uh, I guess that's not exactly important right now.

It's just that it's one of those things that make me realize what I like about him. He tries to be all indifferent and acts like he doesn't need us but really? Guy clings to us like a giant green teddy bear. Just can't stay away. That's another thing I like about Raph. He always comes back.

Which sort of undermines everything else he does. Especially when he starts going on about how annoying I am. We'll just see how annoying I am the next time he ticks me off. Sure, I'm only going to be holding a grudge for like five seconds, but they'll be some seriously hard seconds for HIM. And then I'll feel really sorry, like INSANELY sorry, and I'll make him a batch of his favorite cookies, but he won't go for them right away because he's sort of a grudge holder himself.

So I'll have to sit outside his door with a plate of cookies and hit Leo and Don every time they try to get to one. Usually worth it when he comes out, though. Because he always looks so embarrassed and stuff and I can't not hug the guy when he looks like that. And he always apologizes and I forgive him because he never really means the stuff he says when we fight.

I'm good for him like that, you know? If he was with Don or Leo (I shudder to even think of such things), they wouldn't last a week. Raph's a fighter. It's just how he rolls. Something always annoys him. Something ALWAYS gets him angry. Not that it's always his fault. And he sucks at that 'holding it in' thing, so he just gets even madder at himself so he goes into this whole angst-spiral and starts sniping at anything in range.

Which is usually me.

But I'm kind of used to that part of things. He doesn't mean the stuff he says when he's arguing, he just doesn't want to hurt alone. And I've always been really good at bouncing back. Leo would just be all martyr-y and secretly agree with whatever B.S. Raph threw at him. Or worse, he'd start throwing a lot of angry stuff right back in his face.

Then Raph would take off and get even angrier and I don't think even Master Splinter would be able to help him out of that.

And Donnie just doesn't have it in him to fight all the time. It's not that he's weak or a coward or something like that, but he really hates hurting somebody else. Totally kills him. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn't even have the heart to argue back. He'd take the abuse and get upset and not say anything about it.

Ah, he and Leo deserve each other anyway. They're both all calm and collected and quiet and that kind of thing. And they never seem to fight. Which is really too bad for them. Make-up sex can get extreme.

Just another reason I won't be sharing Raph anytime soon.

And I'm really the only one that can ruffle his feathers and get him to relax within five minutes of each other anyway. It's just so FUN messing with him, you know? I have the incredible ability to annoy any person at any time and in any place, but not everyone reacts the same way to that kind of thing. Don, Leo and Sensei? They do that high and mighty thing where they brush me off like some kind of hyperactive spider monkey who just goes away. Which I do…eventually. After asking a lot of questions and telling a lot of really random stories and maybe (if I'm just that lucky) pushing a few shiny buttons.

They love me. Totally. Apparently enough to just take a deep breath and either ignore me or very calmly get me to agree to leave. As much as I like that they're against totally wrecking me, it also really defeats the purpose of going through the whole spiel. I'm in it for the attention. I guess they know that otherwise they'd…pay attention.

Raph is another story entirely. With him I'm guaranteed not only a loud, violent reaction, I'm also guaranteed his undivided attention. Even if that usually translates into me running for my life and getting smacked. And maybe sleeping in my own room, depending on why I had to take off in the first place.

Yeah, he's never handled teasing all that well. Especially from me. I can't help it, though; it's what I'm good at, right? Maybe every once in a blue moon I end up going a little overboard, but that's just the name of the game. I run my mouth. A LOT. And sometimes Raph just laughs it off and gives me props for finally growing a pair…but sometimes he doesn't. I also have this habit of talking without thinking about what I'm going to say.

Course, I hate the part where he gets all quiet and leaves and then I actually pay attention to what I was saying. Wake-up calls? I prefer taking messages, but the Feel-Like-An-Ass Hotel is very insistent about punctuality. Ask Raph, he stays there all the time.

But I guess that I don't. So it always seems worse when _I _say something that's really stupid. And it's _worse, _worse when there are witnesses, because then everyone (namely Master Splinter) is giving me that _look. _You know, the one that says "I can't believe you just said that, you- well, you can finish that sentence yourself. Now find him and apologize."

Raphie doesn't put much by words, though, which I definitely had to get used to. I'm the kind of guy that likes real apologies, usually. But not lately. There're a lot of REALLY awkward moments where we just sort of stand around. Then I usually crack and say I'm sorry and HE doesn't apologize unless he made a major screw-up earlier. Despite what you may think, he doesn't usually go beyond good ol' fashioned insults. So most of the time we roll without the 'sorry' word.

Which is where that makeup sex comes into play. Or maybe it's more like apology sex.

Either way? Totally rocks. In the end, we're both on the same wavelength.

We're too alike to be separate, I think. You know, one big swirling vortex of chaotic overemotional extroverted greatness. Destroying everything that dares to cross our path.

Okay, if I'm perfectly honest? Things would get destroyed around us anyway. It's me and RAPH, for crying out loud. But that's not the point.

He's fire and I'm air. I can put him out or I can fan the flames. Like, seriously, the dude couldn't BREATHE if I weren't around to freshen things up.

Yeah, I guess his life pretty much revolves around me.

But don't tell him I said that.

* * *

_If you haven't guessed- that ends part one. How badly did that go?_

_Words: 1963 (I think.)_


	2. Didn't Say A Damn Thing

_Part two. It's alternating at the moment. Raph this chapter. And then maybe I'll put __**actual interaction**__ in this thing. God forbid, right?_

_Disclaimer: I have no legal rights to the TMNT and all other included legalities. _

* * *

Lemme guess: Mike just fed you a load of bull about how this whole thing 'started when we were kids.' And then he went on a spiel about how our lives are all happy and full of rainbows and unicorns, and we never fight and it _wasn't _weird as hell to get into in the first place.

Leo and Don didn't jump down my throat trying to figure out if I was serious or just horny and even if they had I'm sure I wouldn't have been offended. Master Splinter? Yeah, he'd _never _take the two of us aside to have 'the talk' or anything.

Everything was glass-half-full, no problems whatsoever, not a single awkward moment, right? That's how his story went?

I'll set the record straight right now: Mikey is a lying little shit and he lives in a fantasy world. An optimistic, sunshiney state of denial, all day every day.

Every. Day. Dare you to spend more than five minutes with the guy and _not _come out annoyed as hell. It's just not possible. Little jumpy spazoid like him was born for that. Guess I'm not exactly selling you on this…whatever the hell it is. To tell you the truth, I didn't exactly have us figured for a good match either.

You know, since I have a fuse so short it's practically reversed and I'll pick a fight with anything that so much as breathes wrong? And Mike is annoying as all hell and _way _too talkative for his own damn good and- well, if I took the time to list everything that was wrong with him and me and the two of us in general we'd be here 'til our great-grandkids had great-grandkids of their own.

Point is, prospects weren't great when we picked this up. I think maybe Master Splinter just let us give it a shot because a) Leo and Don were already going at it, which made us the odd turtles out and b) because he thought we wouldn't make it more than a week.

Hell, everyone was thinking _that_. And I thought I was the skeptic of the family.

But it turns out I got unending wells of patience when it comes to the kid. So instead of just fooling around and beating him down for teasing me before giving up on it altogether and pretending it never happened, I tried the whole 'sticking it out' thing. Didn't turn out so bad, either- he's frustrating, but pretty damn good at making up for it when he wants to be. Sense of humor, can't hold a grudge and he makes some kick-ass food to boot.

Life'd be boring without him sticking to me like a giant piece of green duct tape. Tell him I told you that and you'll be breathing through a tube for the rest of your natural life. I got a reputation for a reason, you know. And he's got a long memory for making fun of a guy.

Like how he went on this cooties rampage when we were seven. The whole 'avoid every other life form for as long as possible' deal, you know? Yeah, I got upset for like five minutes- I was seven fucking years old, I didn't know any better back then- and he STILL won't let me live it down. Not like I could help it, but Mikey's never taken that kinda thing into account.

I'm just saying, we all only had like four other people we knew for our entire lives around then. Leo and Don were always all quiet. All the time. They weren't exactly fans of sitting around with the guy that's always pissed off and the one who never shuts up; and Master Splinter…well, he's Master Splinter. Even if he would've agreed to 'hang out' or whatever, it'd just be weird.

See? Even back in the day I pretty much didn't have a choice about whether or not I felt like dealing with the knucklehead. He was there, everyone else wasn't. So I was used to having the little pest jabbering away at all hours of the day and night. Which wasn't too bad, sometimes. His games were a helluva lot more fun than what everyone else was doing.

Except for the ones about superheroes. I was always the sidekick. Didn't even give me the fucking option of being the bad guy or anything. He's still pretty good about that, even if nowadays it's not exactly the same. Back then, the bad guy was either a dummy in the dojo or Leo. Way more fun when it was Leo, though; mostly because we never actually told him we were making him the bad guy, we just sorta started attacking the hell out of him. He always either figured it out or Donnie walked by and filled him in.

Oh, like we were gonna make _Don_ the bad guy. And risk bringing down the wrath of pissed-off Leonardo when we knocked him down for no apparent reason? I don't think so. Don wouldn't have put up much of a fight anyway, even if Mikey tried to wheedle him into it. Or if I tried threatening him into it. Yeah, that never works with Brainiac. He takes what I say in a fight way too seriously.

Hell, everyone but Mike and Casey take what I say in a fight too seriously. Case just sorta shoots a load of bull right back at me, because he knows that I know he means it about as much as I meant what _I_ was bitching about. That's just the way we roll. Usually just gets us both angrier, though. Been meaning to mention that sometime, but anger is sort of my specialty. Ah, he can take it: not like he bruises easy.

Well, his face don't bruise easy. His ego? Yeah, watch your step there.

At least Mikey's got thick skin, which I definitely can't say about Casey. One wrong insult and he's all up in arms, but never with Mike. Unless I say something completely out of line, he doesn't even really fight back. Just lets it bounce off and throws a few jokes around. And even though he's usually the one that gets me so mad in the first place, the guy always knows exactly what to say to shut me up. Usually takes more than just a joke or a totally random comment- you know, a good solid smack or something- but he's pretty good at getting away with less than that.

I'm glad he is, too. Probably would've done a lot of stupid things if he weren't around. But, uh, if he asks- I never said anything like that. In fact, you can tell him I spent this whole time complaining about him. He'll probably know it's not true, because he's got that freaky sense that somehow lets him know when I say something good about him. Still, don't want him to start thinking I'm about to get all mushy and weepy and emotional.

Bet he'd just love that. Be a real field day for his sense of humor. Last time something like that happened, I was drugged like you wouldn't believe. Or so I've heard. Not exactly a clear day for my memory. Damn ninjas and their stupid fucking darts. Yeah, long story short- I was totally out of it, might've asked Mike to marry me and my brothers had the time of their lives messing with my head.

Until it turned out to be real poison. Didn't improve their standing in my books later on. Not exactly my point, though. Point is if I got all sappy he'd either freak the fuck out or never let me live it down. Who am I kidding, I'd never let myself live it down either.

That talking thing? Not my strong suit. Good thing Mike's got a big enough mouth for both of us. And it's a really good thing that he doesn't expect me to suddenly get all deep and talkative someday. I'm pissed off and I brood a lot and he just lets things go like that. The only time I know for sure he actually wants me to say anything is when I'm supposed to apologize over something huge.

Might be mostly because I can't bake worth a shit and it's usually running my mouth that gets me to that point start with. Say a lot of stuff I don't mean. Half the time I don't even remember what I say when I get into it. Never been good about thinking before I talk or setting up a filter or whatever. Not that I'm the only one fighting during these things.

And he pretty much always forgives me, even before I say anything to him later on. Glad that he does, too; it's good to know that there's someone who can go a few weeks without hating my guts. He's real…sweet's not the word, but something like it. Don't know what the hell he likes so much about me.

Doesn't seem like the type to use a guy for sex, so I crossed that off the list a while back.

Oh, uh, yeah. I was talking about fights. I think he's starting to rub off on me or something.

Like I was saying, Mike's not exactly good at thinking before he talks, either. And he knows exactly how to get under my skin and straight to what'll be the worst to hear. Kid's smarter than we give him credit for, I'll give him that. Knows how to read us like fucking picture books. When he gets into the worst of it, that's about the time when I know I've probably said something really stupid.

And that's also about the time when I take off. Had one too many close calls to risk sticking around during that kind of fight. Better for me to leave than it would be for him anyway. He can talk it out with Don or Leo or Sensei and I can just get everything outta my system before I have to go back.

Besides, if he went running off mad he'd end up doing something really stupid or getting himself caught for not paying attention.

I'm used to fighting mad, so it's no big deal. No idea what he'd do if I weren't around to pull him back down to the planet earth once in a while. It's all fine and good to wander around and let your mind just sorta follow along later, but if I didn't smack him on the back of the head he'd just do it all the time. He needs someone more realistic to even him out.

Couldn't be Don, because Don's always stuck in his own head. Thinking about stuff like inventing and saving the world and trying to count out how many times I'm going to bring my CD player in before he rigs it to blow. And Leo's…well he's the big brother of all big brothers and Mikey's pouting thing never fails with him. He'd start out right but just end up giving the little asshole whatever he wanted by the end of it. Too nice for his own damn good. Sensei's tried I don't know how many times to get Mike to pay attention, and he'll keep trying but it's probably never going to sink in.

Which left me. Grouchy, pessimistic bastard number one who gets mad before we're even fighting and who would rather punch someone out than reason with 'em. It was weird, because he actually tried when I asked him to start hanging around on the same planet. Focus and all. He gives me _that_, I try sticking around instead of finding a reason to blow up and storm off. Pretty even trade.

Didn't think I'd be able to do such a good job of it, myself. Nobody did, because I'm me. Loner type and all. More than a few times I've wondered if it would've been better not to get into this or to cut it off before it got too serious. Usually decide against it, though.

If he's willing to put up with me, I'll be damned if I can't put up with him in return. Like he'd ever let me live down the fact that I couldn't handle him. Not likely. Even if I end up having to spend the rest of my life watching him like a hawk.

Okay, so getting to keep a closer eye out for him is actually probably one the parts I like the most about all of this. He's an annoying spazoid, but he's _mine_ to be annoyed with, twenty-four seven. And I sure as hell ain't letting him out of this anytime soon. Especially not because of some stupid mistake in a fight. That'd just be taking the easy way out; doing things the hard way usually turns out better.

Not that we usually got much of a choice about easy or hard. We're pretty much limited to hard. But Mike's good at making hard stuff seem easier. Just another reason to make sure he sticks around and sticks with me.

Besides, if he got himself iced because I wasn't around to make him keep his eye on the ball, I'm pretty sure I couldn't live with myself. Wouldn't be much of a point in it. Keeping him safe from his own stupid ideas keeps me from going nuts.

But I never told you that. In fact, I didn't say a damn thing.

* * *

_Took me a few days and quite a bit of tweaking (first-person Raph is surprisingly difficult to write), but yeah. There's that._


	3. Sort Of A First Date

_What's this? No longer first person? Character interaction? I must be going insane._

_Disclaimer: I still do not own them or the rights to them, legalities, blah._

* * *

"So are we there yet or what?"

Raph rolled his eyes with an annoyed huff, making a very deliberate effort to keep both hands gripping the steering wheel. He was _not _going to strangle the source of all things loud and whiny into submission. Even when Mike was at his very worst, explaining to the rest of the family exactly why he was dragging a lifeless body back into the lair would be a bitch.

Murder was taking the easy way out of this anyway. If previous records were anything to go by, Raphael liked doing things the hard way as it was.

And yet for some reason, he'd fooled himself into thinking that actually taking Michelangelo out might make his brother less annoying than usual.

So far, it wasn't working.

As though born to deliberately step all over the limits of every other living thing in existence, the other turtle allowed his face to fall into a furious pout. A lamenting sigh passed through his mouth and was duly ignored. Upon witnessing this failure, he took the next obvious course of action and sighed again.

And his older brother ignored _that, _too. Michelangelo frowned, leaning forward in his seat and waving a hand in front of the other's face.

"Uh, hi? Raph? Y'know, if I knew you were gonna spend this whole time ignoring me I would've just stayed at the lair to play video games."

Raphael bristled, batting the limb out of his line of vision. "Quit whining. I ain't ignoring you; I'm just not talking to you or letting you know that I can hear you. And I'm hardly doing _that._" After a moment's pause he glanced back over, a sharp frown overtaking his features. "What'd I tell you about opening your eyes?"

The younger turtle shrugged. "Not to do it. But if I listened every time you told me to do something I would've gotten thrown off a cliff, like, years ago."

"And I wouldn't be putting up with the 'thing that wouldn't shut up.' See how nice things coulda been if everyone would just think about what I say?"

"Hey, it's not our fault that everything you say is too wrapped up in emo for us to translate," Mikey threw back, unfettered by the other's distinctly grouchy mood. All things considered, the night was going pretty well by their usual standards. Raph was even feeling up to a rousing game of insult tag.

"Yeah, yeah. Better wrapped in 'emo' than wrapped in bad puns, sunshine and candy wrappers."

Wow; there must have been some seriously encouraging plans ahead if Raph wasn't jumping down his throat for dropping the "emo" word. Michelangelo fidgeted in his seat again, peering through the passenger's side window with newfound excitement. No smack to the back of the head, no jabs at his intelligence levels and no threats on his life all combined to equal win.

At least, that was his personal opinion.

"Quit looking around or you'll ruin the whole thing, mega-spaz. Eyes closed."

Well that wasn't going to do anything to help him figure this out. He fished around in his head for a plausible excuse to keep staring at the scenery. "But, uh, what if we…uh, get _attacked_?"

Raphael raised an eye ridge, amused in spite of his best efforts. "Attacked. This I gotta hear. Attacked by what, Mike?"

"Need I remind you of all the weird thousand-year-old prophecies that magically come to fruition _every time _we leave the lair? Or, you know, the immortal living statues and demonic entities and government conspiracies we keep shenanigan-ing ourselves into?" Mikey said loudly, flailing an arm about as dramatically as was possible in the enclosed space of the Cowabunga Carl's front seats. "Dude: what _wouldn't _attack us right now?"

"Okay, I'll give you the shenanigans angle, but nothing's about to pop outta the woodwork to wreak unholy vengeance upon us or something. So stop stalling and keep your eyes covered."

"Said the turtle who was slated to die first. You just totally jinxed us, Raphie-boy, you know that? Now I'm gonna close my eyes and a mess of super-ninja-alien-time traveling-dinosaur-wizard things will jump onto the hood of the van and try to suck out our souls-"

"You can fight blindfolded just _fine_ and you know it. Now quit pulling out the paranoia card- if I wanted to spend the night listening to all the ways we could get killed I would've just dragged Leo out here."

"I take offense at that! Can _Leo _regale you with fantastic tales of heroic triumph on a daily basis? Can _Leo _make grilled cheese sandwiches exactly the way you like them?"

Raph rolled his eyes again, executing a sharp right turn. He opened his mouth to make some sort of scathing remark but got cut off.

"Can _Leo _do the Macarena, Raph?" Mikey asked, leaning dangerously close. "Well? _Can he?_"

Fact of the matter was, Leo was probably more than capable of achieving any one of those goals with enough practice. Of course, Leo was also more likely to use the abilities to become even more of a smug bastard than he usually was. Raphael narrowed his eyes at the mere notion.

"_Well, what do you know? I CAN make grilled cheese properly. More than you can say, isn't it Raph?"_

That bastard. He would have to get Mike to help him achieve perfect grilled cheese before his older brother could.

Another glance over revealed that Michelangelo had gotten suspiciously glum, reminding him that he hadn't actually answered the questions out loud. Excellent way to _not _ignore him- make him think you're absorbed in some kind of disgusting fantasy about Leo while you're supposed to be taking him out. Raph fought the urge to slam his head into the steering wheel.

This was way too much trouble.

"No, Leo can't do the Macarena. And his stories are boring as hell and he's too afraid to get close to the stove after the _last _time he tried to make grilled cheese. And you know that, and the sad puppy eyes ain't working so stop trying to use 'em on me."

The glumness morphed into mild annoyance, an expression always out of place on the other's face, and Mikey stared his brother down as intensely as he dared. Yep, Raphael was frustrated all right. Maybe even bored, too. Which was weird, because he was usually pretty good about keeping Raph occupied.

And he was sure he _could_ be doing exactly what he normally did- a lot of nickname-creating and teasing- but wasn't the point of this whole "relationship" concept supposed to be _not _being brotherly? What were they even supposed to do once they got to wherever Raph was driving?

No need to get to know each other- after seventeen years there was pretty much nothing to find out. So…why exactly had they both agreed to try this?

"Mike." The name pulled him out of his surprisingly pessimistic thoughts and he found that the van had, in fact, come to a full stop. Well, damn. He hadn't even been paying enough attention to figure out where they were going. The turtle shifted and cast another glance towards the other. Raph stared at him, head tilted slightly to one side in consideration.

Okay, that wasn't weird at all. "Yeah?"

"If you don't wanna do this, you don't have to."

Mikey blinked. When exactly had his short-fused sibling gained the ability to read minds, and where the shell was _his _special superpower? A grin stretched across his face, feeling more and more like a strained rubber band. "Bit late for that, isn't it? You know, since I'm already in the van and halfway across the city."

He got a scowl for his efforts. "Just tell me what you want and stop playin' stupid."

And that was pretty much the answer right there: Raph didn't think he was an idiot (despite several jokes made to indicate the contrary). He treated him like an equal companion and not just someone that needed to be protected or ignored or pushed out of the way. Raph thought highly enough of him to expect him to know better and to keep his focus.

In fact, he'd go so far as to say his brother actually trusted him around the majority of his possessions. Which was really all he needed to convince himself to keep trying.

"Mike?"

Oh, and there was also that. He wasn't just _Mikey, _he was _Mike. _With his smile feeling a lot less stretched, he gave his clearly more annoyed by the second brother a hearty thumbs up. "Think I'll stick around for a while."

Raph quirked a fierce, lopsided grin and opened the driver's side door. "Good. I got a feeling you woulda kicked yourself for missing _this _anyway."

"Missing what? You plan on telling me where we are or is there still some lame surprise element to it?"

"I can tell you."

Mikey practically bounced out of the van, more excited by the second. "Then _do!_"

His brother indicated their surroundings with a broad sweeping gesture. Okay, deserted shack, falling apart, middle of the city. Michelangelo raised a questioning eye ridge.

"So the toothpick hut is our main attraction?"

The grin grew. "Yep."

Oh, he was having way too much fun with this. "Okay, Raphie, I'll bite. Why are we visiting the storage shed from hades?"

"'Cause it's where the all the Nightwatcher's stuff is."

Mike turned to his brother, eyes eerily large.

Yeah. Yeah, best idea _ever._

* * *

_There's that, then. _


End file.
